Some thoughts on the Olympics which, somewhat unbelievably, start a week from Friday: The pollution issues have to be creating some interesting strategy on arrival times. Do you get there just before your event or get settled for a while to try to adjust? I’ve been to Beijing twice (2001 and 2006) and I think two or three days before is probably right for a one or two day event but for something like basketball, I imagine there will be effects towards the end of the games. It will be interesting to see how many world and Olympic records are set and how that compares to past games. I imagine the smoothness of these games will have a big effect on how the IOC decides future host cities. I’m not sure what other cities are similar to Beijing now (Moscow? Cape Town? pure guesses), but there must be governments out there hoping things go flawlessly. I will be shocked if things go flawlessly. (Tibetan and maybe Taiwanese protests? Sick athletes from food or pollution? Who knows?) I’ve been thinking for the past month or so that I am excited about watching. Then I realized that I can’t remember a single Olympic moment that I have watched that comes close to my all-time most exciting sports moments (e.g., Dwyane Wade in 2006, T-Mac’s 13 points in 2004, Beckett in 2003 World Series, Big Papi in 2004 ALCS, Dolphins / Jets MNF in 2000, the Wimbledon final this year). What are my most memorable Olympic moments? Dan O’Brien failing to qualify after the “Dan and Dave” Reebok campaign, the 1996 Atlanta bombing (more the fake hero story) and generically enjoying curling in the 2002 Winter games. I didn’t get a chance to watch the Dream Team in 1992 because I was at summer camp. Somehow the marketing and international (nationalistic / patriotic) competition still makes it great. I wish I was going to be there. I looked for hotel rooms last fall and they were about five times as expensive as a normal week. I don’t think there’s even room on the floor in a friend’s apartment. Photo shows a crew building a wall to hide run-down buildings where the tenants refuse to move. Instead of paying them off, telling them they have no choice, and then tearing down the buildings (as I have heard happens regularly), the government is building walls to block views of these undesirables all over the city. (via Beijing Hides Dilapidated Buildings - The New York Times and the accompanying article.

Some thoughts on the Olympics which, somewhat unbelievably, start a week from Friday:

  • The pollution issues have to be creating some interesting strategy on arrival times. Do you get there just before your event or get settled for a while to try to adjust? I’ve been to Beijing twice (2001 and 2006) and I think two or three days before is probably right for a one or two day event but for something like basketball, I imagine there will be effects towards the end of the games. It will be interesting to see how many world and Olympic records are set and how that compares to past games.
  • I imagine the smoothness of these games will have a big effect on how the IOC decides future host cities. I’m not sure what other cities are similar to Beijing now (Moscow? Cape Town? pure guesses), but there must be governments out there hoping things go flawlessly.
  • I will be shocked if things go flawlessly. (Tibetan and maybe Taiwanese protests? Sick athletes from food or pollution? Who knows?)
  • I’ve been thinking for the past month or so that I am excited about watching. Then I realized that I can’t remember a single Olympic moment that I have watched that comes close to my all-time most exciting sports moments (e.g., Dwyane Wade in 2006, T-Mac’s 13 points in 2004, Beckett in 2003 World Series, Big Papi in 2004 ALCS, Dolphins / Jets MNF in 2000, the Wimbledon final this year). What are my most memorable Olympic moments? Dan O’Brien failing to qualify after the “Dan and Dave” Reebok campaign, the 1996 Atlanta bombing (more the fake hero story) and generically enjoying curling in the 2002 Winter games. I didn’t get a chance to watch the Dream Team in 1992 because I was at summer camp. Somehow the marketing and international (nationalistic / patriotic) competition still makes it great.
  • I wish I was going to be there. I looked for hotel rooms last fall and they were about five times as expensive as a normal week. I don’t think there’s even room on the floor in a friend’s apartment.
Photo shows a crew building a wall to hide run-down buildings where the tenants refuse to move. Instead of paying them off, telling them they have no choice, and then tearing down the buildings (as I have heard happens regularly), the government is building walls to block views of these undesirables all over the city. (via Beijing Hides Dilapidated Buildings - The New York Times and the accompanying article.

Notes

  1. mattlehrer posted this